“Opium and morphine are certainly dangerous, habit-forming
drugs. But once the principle is admitted that it is the
duty of government to protect the individual against his own
foolishness, no serious objections can be advanced against
further encroachments... Why limit the government’s
benevolent providence to the protection of the individual’s
body only?” Mises asks. “Is not the harm a man can inflict
on his mind and soul even more disastrous than any bodily
evils? Why not prevent him from reading bad books and seeing
bad plays, from looking at bad paintings and statues and
from hearing bad music?”

and further:
“He who wants to reform his countrymen must take recourse to
persuasion. This alone is the democratic way of bringing
about changes. If a man fails in his endeavors to convince
other people of the soundness of his ideas,” Mises
concludes, “he should blame his own disabilities. He should
not ask for a law, that is, for compulsion and coercion by
the police.”

Which of course brings us right down to 2017.

This insane urge to protect the ignorant, or just stupid, from their
own folly seems to be a legacy of the "Middle East" religions and the
is largely missing from the "Far East" religions, and would seem to
fly in the face of the Darwin theory, which might be termed "survival
of the fittest".

But something I've always wondered about. We have all these groups
striving to protect the poor ignorant purchaser from those spiteful
manufacturers who fail to tell them that "not tightening this nut may
cause the wheel to fall off". Why isn't there a law to protect the
poor maligned manufacturer from the totally inept users who, for
example, order a cup of hot coffee and than proceed to spill it in
their own lap and than argue that it was the vendor's fault that they
got burned.

Or to use a bit more recent theory, "It is the bank's fault that I am
in debt since if they hadn't loaned me the money I couldn't have spent
it" :-)
--
Cheers,

“Opium and morphine are certainly dangerous, habit-forming
drugs. But once the principle is admitted that it is the
duty of government to protect the individual against his own
foolishness, no serious objections can be advanced against
further encroachments... Why limit the government’s
benevolent providence to the protection of the individual’s
body only?” Mises asks. “Is not the harm a man can inflict
on his mind and soul even more disastrous than any bodily
evils? Why not prevent him from reading bad books and seeing
bad plays, from looking at bad paintings and statues and
from hearing bad music?”

and further:
“He who wants to reform his countrymen must take recourse to
persuasion. This alone is the democratic way of bringing
about changes. If a man fails in his endeavors to convince
other people of the soundness of his ideas,” Mises
concludes, “he should blame his own disabilities. He should
not ask for a law, that is, for compulsion and coercion by
the police.”

Which of course brings us right down to 2017.

This insane urge to protect the ignorant, or just stupid, from their
own folly seems to be a legacy of the "Middle East" religions and the
is largely missing from the "Far East" religions, and would seem to
fly in the face of the Darwin theory, which might be termed "survival
of the fittest".

But something I've always wondered about. We have all these groups
striving to protect the poor ignorant purchaser from those spiteful
manufacturers who fail to tell them that "not tightening this nut may
cause the wheel to fall off". Why isn't there a law to protect the
poor maligned manufacturer from the totally inept users who, for
example, order a cup of hot coffee and than proceed to spill it in
their own lap and than argue that it was the vendor's fault that they
got burned.

Or to use a bit more recent theory, "It is the bank's fault that I am
in debt since if they hadn't loaned me the money I couldn't have spent
it" :-)

That's just crazy talk. Removing impediments like that from
American industry would make comparable goods cost the same
to make here as in Thailand! No one who gets to decide wants
any part of that.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

At creeping speeds (less than 10km/h), I could see holes with a
candle light.

Must be nice to be blessed with such perfect vision! many of us find
that we need a prety bright light in order to see where we're going
and the obstacles to avoid at night. that's not to mention that it's
nice to be able to see critters on theroads or trails in time to slow
or stop to avoid running over them. Personally, I like a supplemental
High beam light so that ican see a longer way down an unlit very dark
road on a moonless night so I can see the skunks at the side of the
road or on the road well BEFORE I startle them. YMMV

If you need a high beam light to see enough not to bump in to things at
night while you are moving at less than 10km/h ( 6 miles/h), you have
really poor eyesight. Do you walk with a white cane?

What do you mean by a high beam light? Personally, I need more than a candle to see holes in wet pavement, blow-down and gravel even when creeping along at less than 10km. YMMV.

Seriously, if your headlight looks like a candle at 10kph, something is
wrong with your system. There is no speed low enough to make my light
so dim that I can't see potholes and road debris.

At creeping speeds (less than 10km/h), I could see holes with a
candle light.

Must be nice to be blessed with such perfect vision! many of us find
that we need a prety bright light in order to see where we're going
and the obstacles to avoid at night. that's not to mention that it's
nice to be able to see critters on theroads or trails in time to slow
or stop to avoid running over them. Personally, I like a supplemental
High beam light so that ican see a longer way down an unlit very dark
road on a moonless night so I can see the skunks at the side of the
road or on the road well BEFORE I startle them. YMMV

If you need a high beam light to see enough not to bump in to things at
night while you are moving at less than 10km/h ( 6 miles/h), you have
really poor eyesight. Do you walk with a white cane?

What do you mean by a high beam light? Personally, I need more than a candle to see holes in wet pavement, blow-down and gravel even when creeping along at less than 10km. YMMV.

Seriously, if your headlight looks like a candle at 10kph, something is
wrong with your system. There is no speed low enough to make my light
so dim that I can't see potholes and road debris.

Have you put a meter on it yet?

Not yet, but I'm not really talking about my headlight. I'm responding to James' statement that a candle should produce enough light to ride a bike at under 10kph.

Or to use a bit more recent theory, "It is the bank's fault that I am
in debt since if they hadn't loaned me the money I couldn't have spent
it" :-)

That's just crazy talk. Removing impediments like that from
American industry would make comparable goods cost the same
to make here as in Thailand! No one who gets to decide wants
any part of that.

I recently read an statement by one of the Thai ministers that the
very recent increase in the U.S. prime rate, which effectively causes
the value of the U.S. dollar to increase relative to other currencies,
will benefit Thailand as they expect that trade with the U.S. will
increase due to the effective decrease in the cost (in dollars) of
Thai goods.

And, of course, an increase in interest rates also increases the cost
of doing business which in turn increases the cost of U.S. made goods,
which makes the spread between U.S. and foreign goods even greater..
--
Cheers,

On Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 5:13:53 PM UTC-4, James wrote:
On 16/03/17 16:44, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 5:40:55 PM UTC-4, James wrote:

At creeping speeds (less than 10km/h), I could see holes with a
candle light.

Must be nice to be blessed with such perfect vision! many of us find
that we need a prety bright light in order to see where we're going
and the obstacles to avoid at night. that's not to mention that it's
nice to be able to see critters on theroads or trails in time to slow
or stop to avoid running over them. Personally, I like a supplemental
High beam light so that ican see a longer way down an unlit very dark
road on a moonless night so I can see the skunks at the side of the
road or on the road well BEFORE I startle them. YMMV

If you need a high beam light to see enough not to bump in to things at
night while you are moving at less than 10km/h ( 6 miles/h), you have
really poor eyesight. Do you walk with a white cane?

--
JS
No, I use sonar. LOL

We're talking about two different things now. There are times when I DO NEED a bright light at slow speeds and there are times one I want a bright light that illuminates the roasd a long way in front of me. A dynamo hub light for ME just doesn't meet MY needs. I like to be able to see critters and debris on the road BEFORE I hit them or in the case of critters like skunks startle them. I also like to be able o tell the difference between a small branch on the road or trail at night and a snake again BEFORE I hit it .YMMV

One candlepower = 0.981 candelas = 12.57 lumens.
However, this is tricky because candlepower and candelas are a measure
of light at the source, not light at the object illuminated. This
might help (or add to the confusion):
http://www.theledlight.com/lumens.html

My eyesight is slowly deteriorating. When riding, I don't wear
corrective glasses. The result is that I can see fairly well past
about 7 meters, but anything closer is otto focus. Potholes are
usually closer, so all I see is a blur on the roadway. More light is
a big help, especially if there's a shadow available to highlight the
edge of the pothole. At night, potholes just merge into the road
debris. My solution is to avoid riding at night, or ride very slowly
and carefully.

I think these are for a bicycle but I'm not certain.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/b0/bf/b1/b0bfb19778bfa3f85b8849983bc0d2f3.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/6e/23/fd/6e23fd668b4e57681b8bcbdff7ec71f6.jpg

On 3/16/2017 2:13 PM, James wrote:
On 16/03/17 16:44, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 5:40:55 PM UTC-4, James wrote:

At creeping speeds (less than 10km/h), I could see holes with a
candle light.

Must be nice to be blessed with such perfect vision! many of us find
that we need a prety bright light in order to see where we're going
and the obstacles to avoid at night. that's not to mention that it's
nice to be able to see critters on theroads or trails in time to slow
or stop to avoid running over them. Personally, I like a supplemental
High beam light so that ican see a longer way down an unlit very dark
road on a moonless night so I can see the skunks at the side of the
road or on the road well BEFORE I startle them. YMMV

If you need a high beam light to see enough not to bump in to things at
night while you are moving at less than 10km/h ( 6 miles/h), you have
really poor eyesight. Do you walk with a white cane?

On MUPs you often have to go slow, both because there's a speed limit
and because they tend to have a lot of sharp turns as they go over and
under roads, railroad tracks, and streams. They often have no lighting.
Plus, as you age your night-vision gets worse.

In short, when you're riding on well-lit roads, or well-lit bicycle
infrastructure, you may not need much of a light on your bike, but there
are definitely situations where you do need a lot of light.

Hybrid lights would be the best solution. The necessary brightness
wouldn't be determined solely by how fast you're riding, it'd be
determined by where you're riding.

snip
You could stick in a Murata LXDC55FAAA-203
http://power.murata.com/data/power/LXDC55FAAA-203_data_sheet_E.pdf
instead of the zener and do a USB version also with only three parts.
But I know that you love designing your own switchers.

$3.50? Mon Dieu! :-)

I got some of the Murata LXDC55FAAA-203 units from Digikey for use at
work. I guess I didn't realize from the picture on the data sheet just
how tiny these things are. Maybe I'll buy some more and try building
some dynamo to USB adapters.

snip
You could stick in a Murata LXDC55FAAA-203
http://power.murata.com/data/power/LXDC55FAAA-203_data_sheet_E.pdf
instead of the zener and do a USB version also with only three parts.
But I know that you love designing your own switchers.

$3.50? Mon Dieu! :-)

I got some of the Murata LXDC55FAAA-203 units from Digikey for use at
work. I guess I didn't realize from the picture on the data sheet just
how tiny these things are. Maybe I'll buy some more and try building
some dynamo to USB adapters.

Be carful with that 16V abs max input limit. When the load current drops
this can easily be exceeded by a dynamo, big time. You could burn off
the excess with a zener diode or TVS (though _not_ MOV) but these have
large tolerances and could burn out if not well heat sinked.

I think you need somthing automotive here, some circuit that can stomach
50V or more.